


Take Care of the Moments

by lucybun



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys Kissing, M/M, Than my other one, another fix it, no cath bashing, with 99 percent less bitterness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26594338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucybun/pseuds/lucybun
Summary: Steve's been back for a few weeks when Cath drops in at the Palace for a friendly visit. Danny's reaction forces them to finally face each other and say what needs to be said if they ever want to find their happiness together.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 25
Kudos: 248





	Take Care of the Moments

**Author's Note:**

> This was a story I started months ago and abandoned to work on And the Hits Keep Coming. I stumbled across it yesterday and couldn't let it go until I finished it. It's yet another fix-it/coda but with about one percent of the angst as my other one. No Cath bashing in this one either. Let me know what y'all think!

Steve came home exactly seventeen weeks from the day he left. Danny’s not sure if that was coincidence or some of his military precision bullshit, but whatever. The guy’s home, so that’s that. And it’s totally fine that he’s back. Good even. Danny didn’t quite know what to do with it, with him showing up one afternoon and jumping right back into his life almost like nothing had happened. He can’t say he’s not disappointed by that.

They’d been partnered again for a couple of months, and Danny was still living in the house. He’d pretty much been alone in the place for those seventeen weeks since Junior was always at Tani’s. He’d made the rather large mistake of starting to think of it as home, which just set him up for more heartbreak because he was going to have to move out soon. Steve was back, he was safe, and Danny wasn’t worried about waking up to the sound of a gunshot in the middle of the night. He needed to get out because things with Steve weren’t bad exactly, they just weren’t good, and he had no idea how to fix that. He wasn’t sure he should be the one to fix it.

He’d just grabbed his travel mug when he heard the big goof pounding down the stairs. Danny grabbed the keys to the Camaro from the bowl by the door, and, right behind him now, Steve grabbed the truck keys. Actually, that was one thing that had changed since Steve came back; they didn’t ride into work together anymore. Steve always took his truck now, and that was another thing that Danny didn’t quite know what to do with. He liked driving his car, don’t get him wrong, but he missed having Steve with him. It would’ve been nice if they’d just been able to compromise for once and let Danny drive his own damn car sometimes with Steve along for the ride. So, whatever. He’d gotten used to an empty passenger seat over the last few months. It’d be fine.

They headed out and got into their separate vehicles without saying goodbye, which irked Danny to no end. He knew it might seem weird to say goodbye when they were both going to the same place, but he’d grown up in the kind of family that always said goodbye just in case something horrible happened. Given the odds of something horrible happening to one of them, well, it seemed a little short-sighted not to at least say something when they parted. It’s not like he was expecting a drawn out farewell with hugs and kisses, just, you know, “Bye, Danno!” or something. It really bothered him. Especially since he had the feeling that if it was anybody other than Danny, Steve _would_ be willing to give a fond farewell even if they were just going around the block. 

That was actually something else that had changed. Steve hadn’t exactly become… sentimental, but he’d been making an effort to be more open with his affection. There were hugs for everybody on Friday afternoon, even if they were going to see the team on the weekend. Noelani got a hug every time they left the morgue. Charlie got hugs and kisses all the time. He was at that age where he was stuck between being happy and embarrassed about displays of affection, but he ate it up when it came from Steve. The man had done a good job of staying in touch with the kids while he was gone, but his absence still hadn’t been exactly easy on Charlie. He guessed Steve was trying to make up for that. 

Solely in the interest of accuracy, Danny couldn't help but note that Steve wasn’t precisely more affectionate with _everyone_. There were plenty of hugs and kisses for everybody except Danny, no matter that they’d always been a little touchy feely with each other before Steve left. Now he’d maybe get a friendly pat on the back or a playful nudge if they were joking around, but that was that. He’d racked his brain to come up with some reason for it, but the only one he’d landed on was that he hadn’t been supportive enough of Steve’s little trek around the globe. They hadn’t done a very good job of keeping in touch while Steve had been gone. They’d responded to each other’s texts, just it usually took a couple of days. They’d spoken on the phone whenever Steve called for Charlie, but just perfunctory hellos and goodbyes. He'd called to speak to Danny a few times, but they'd mostly just talked about the kids and the team. Steve never asked one question about how Danny was doing without him, and Danny never asked one question about where Steve was or who he was with. Par for the damn course.

Honestly, it burned like fire that Steve had been so unconcerned about Danny’s injuries. His partner had taken off when he was still a mess, and then he hadn’t even bothered to ask about it. Danny couldn’t deny how much that hurt, but he’d decided to take it as a sign that how he’d felt when Steve left was absolutely correct. He’d felt abandoned and not worth Steve’s time, and to have that confirmed, well… sucked wasn’t the word. 

So that day when he walked into the office about a minute after Steve, he wasn’t surprised to see the man bent over, hugging someone much smaller. He was, however, incredibly surprised when Steve stood and he heard a familiar voice say, “No hug for me, huh? That’s not the good Jersey boy I know.” 

He’d felt frozen in place exactly three times in his life: when Billy drowned, when Rachel told him she was moving Gracie to Hawaii, and when Matty took off. This was the fourth. Fortunately, Cath was walking toward him with her arms outstretched, so maybe no one noticed his feet were like concrete. When she wrapped him in an oddly tight hug, it took him a few moments to get his arms to obey and hug her back. He saw Steve shoot him an odd look when he only gave her the briefest squeeze and then the “I’m a little uncomfortable here” pat on the back. She pulled back finally, smiling up at him and saying, “It’s good to see you, Danny.”

And okay, okay. Danny could work with that. He could engage in the social niceties. So he managed a, “You too, Cath,” before clearing his throat and taking an awkward step to the side. While conversation among the team went on around him, he definitely was not trying to inch closer to his office door and he definitely had no intention of quietly stepping behind Lou so he could block him from view when he ran for it. 

He was maybe two steps away from his escape when he heard Steve call out, “That sound good, Danno?”

Being as how Danno (and of course the asshole chose right then to call him that for the first time since the Day on the Beach) had absolutely no idea what anyone had been talking about, he had no idea if it sounded good or not. He glanced at Lou but got zero read on him. He either didn’t care about whatever was said or he was thinking about golf instead of paying attention. Still, if he didn’t look pained, then whatever it was couldn’t be that bad, right? So, he was ready to agree before Tani said, “I mean, if Danny can’t do it tonight, why can’t we wait until tomorrow? Not that I’m trying to keep you from getting extra time with Charlie,” she assured, turning to Danny, “it’s just, it’s only a few hours extra, and I’ll miss you if you don’t go.”

He heard Quinn laugh at her and tease, “Maybe he can facetime you while we’re there so you don’t cry the whole time.” He also heard her very loud “Ow!” when Tani punched her in the arm. 

Oh. They were making plans and not including Danny. That seemed about right. His feelings were already so brittle and fragile, he should’ve known something would come along soon and break what he was barely holding together. Right. He managed to clear his throat and open his mouth, but nothing came out. He bit his lip then tried again. Still nothing. By this point everyone was openly staring at him, and he could feel sweat breaking out in the small of his back. He looked at Tani because it was just easier that way and finally managed to croak, “Nope," before striding back out to the stair doors. He heard Steve’s muffled voice following him, so he sped up in the hopes that he’d make it out to the car before Steve caught him. There was no way in hell he’d be able to actually do that, but he was willing to give it the old Williams try. Sure enough, right as he was about to pull the ground floor door open, he heard Steve’s boots thump hard behind him before the man slapped his hand hard against the door, blocking Danny’s exit.

Before Danny could turn around, Steve had the balls to sound angry and yell, “Yo, what the fuck, Danny? What is wrong with you?”

And that was it. That, ladies and gentlemen, was Danny Williams’ limit. The unmitigated gall of this asshole getting angry at him. Heat rolled up from his chest and wrapped around his head as he turned to face Steve. In an unexpectedly quiet voice, Danny answered, “You are what’s wrong with me, Steven. You barely have anything to do with me anymore, and you know, that’s fine or whatever—”

“Barely have anything to do with you?” Steve interrupted. “Barely have anything to do with you? We fucking work together every day! You live in my fucking house!”

And with that final sentence, Daniel Williams had a rather painful epiphany that he probably should’ve had several months before: Steve McGarrett was tired of him. Tired of driving with him, tired of touching him, tired of living with him. He was probably tired of working with him too, but that hadn’t been such an issue since Danny had cut back on field work. An odd sense of calm washed away the anger. 

He looked up at Steve whose chest was heaving like he’d just finished a triathlon or something stupid like that. He was red in the face and his jaw was clenched so hard Danny wasn’t sure how teeth weren’t breaking. A distant part of him recognized the irony of the role reversal. He didn’t think he could actually look the man in the eye and say what he needed to, so he just kept looking at that clenched jaw and answered, “I can be out of your house by the end of the day. Is working with me going to be an issue too?”

Steve went pale and still, “What did you say?”

If he was trying to intimidate Danny with this shit, it wasn’t working. “I said I’ll be out of the house by the end of the day. I’m asking if working with me is going to be a problem. If it is, I’ll put in my papers tomorrow. I’m sick and fucking tired of being where I’m not wanted.”

“Where you’re not wanted?” Steve spat. “Where the fuck do you think you’re not wanted?”

“Well, let’s start with the house. You don’t want me there, so I’m out. You barely set foot in the Camaro anymore, so I guess you don’t want to be around me there either. And now this. So, you know, I get it, man. Wish granted. It would’ve been nice if you’d just fucking told me you wanted me gone instead of shutting me out like this, but whatever. It’s not the shittiest thing you’ve done lately. So, I get it. I should’ve gotten it when you left. I’m an idiot.” There absolutely was not a wobble to his voice before he went quiet. 

He heard Steve draw breath to speak – yell more like – so he was a little taken aback when instead Steve said in a soft, small voice, “You’re wrong, Danny.”

Danny’s head jerked up, and he finally met Steve's gaze. He looked terribly earnest, which was completely unfair. “Steve, you were gone for four months. You took off before I could walk without help. You barely spoke to me while you were gone.”

“Hey, that wasn’t me. I texted you, I called you. You were the one who barely texted back. You were the one who wouldn’t talk to me for more than ten minutes,” Steve reminded him. 

“You want to know why? You want to know why that was? Because ten minutes was pretty much all I could take. I gave you ten minutes every time we spoke for you to ask me how I was doing. Ten minutes to ask your best fucking friend who was recovering from a grave injury how he was doing. You never managed it, not once. You left off to God knows where and you have the audacity to be angry that I didn’t spend enough time with you on the phone!”

“Danny, why would I have asked you how you were doing?”

Whelp, that’s what he got for thinking he’d hit his limit. If he didn’t know better, he’d say he was having a heart attack because it very much felt like there was an elephant sitting on his chest. He stared down at his shoes for a few seconds, eyes stinging and breath stuck in his throat. He finally managed several shallow breaths and nodded jerkily. “Yeah,” he mumbled, “my point exactly.” Before he could move though, he felt a large hand land heavily on his shoulder.

“Please look at me. I don’t know what’s going on, but please just look at me,” Steve urged.

Danny shook his head. He didn’t want to look at him. He didn’t want to have this fucking conversation, and fuck Steve for not letting him go.

“That’s okay,” Steve said, “you don’t have to. I just need you to listen to me. I never asked you how you were doing because you would’ve just lied to me. You would've said you were fine no matter what was going on. I’ve known you ten years, man.”

What utter crap. “So what? Just no point in bothering? It wouldn’t have killed you to ask just out of politeness, you know?”

“Jesus Christ,” Steve growled as he squeezed his eyes shut and hung his head. After several deep breaths, he looked back up. “I bothered, Danny. Okay? I bothered, just not you. Go ask Lou. Go ask Adam or Tani. I didn’t need to ask you because I already knew. I got an update on you every single day from somebody who wouldn’t sugar coat it, but I didn't think about how that might come across to you. I figured you’d be relieved I wasn’t pressing you or something.”

Danny hadn’t really expected that answer. It never occurred to him that Steve was interested enough in his recovery to ask the others about it, and he had no idea why. In all fairness, it probably had more to do with him and his insecurities than it did with Steve. He finally cleared his throat awkwardly. “Oh, well, that’s fine then. It’s, uh, good to know.”

“So is that it? That’s why you’re moving out and talking about quitting?” Steve asked. 

When Danny hadn’t answered after several moments, Steve huffed in irritation. “Please just tell me what’s wrong. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Don't do that,” Danny snapped. “Don’t speak to me like I’m a child.”

Steve held his hand up and made a stopping motion. “That’s not what I was doing. I’m sorry if it sounded like that, but I meant what I said. Whatever’s wrong, I want to fix this. It’s, ah, it’s maybe killing me just a little bit.”

Danny wasn’t even sure what was going on at this point, but, yeah, he maybe felt like he was dying a little bit too. And for the millionth time in the past several months, it pissed him off. “Well join the club, asshole. You take off, barely speak to me while you’re gone, drop back in like nothing’s happened, and then proceed to make me feel like you don’t even want me around. You barely speak to me, you suddenly decide that it’s great to be affectionate with everybody in sight but you’ll barely touch me. And now this. Here’s Catherine fucking Rollins back again and you’re deliberately making plans that exclude me.”

“That’s not what —”

Danny ignored the attempted interruption and asked, “Did you know you haven’t said you love me not one time since that day on the beach?” Danny was embarrassed to bring it up. It left him way more exposed than he cared to be, but if they were doing this, they were doing it. May as well get it all out, he figured.

Steve just blinked and calmly said, “I love you.”

Danny had to scoff at that. “God, just stop, stop. Don’t just say it when it doesn’t mean anything. You know I hate that.” And he did, he hated it so much. It was something precious, giving those words to somebody, giving that emotion to somebody. He thought Steve had understood that, but he guessed it was yet another thing he’d been very, very wrong about.

Steve heaved out a weary sigh. “You’re right,” he admitted, “I haven’t said it since that day.” They both knew which day he was talking about. “I haven’t said it because it doesn’t mean _anything_ when I say it, it... it means _everything_ , I guess.” Very tentatively, he added, “ _You_ mean everything.”

When the brief moment of utter shock passed, all Danny could do was laugh in disbelief. “You know, I honestly don’t remember you being this much of a bastard before you left. Jesus.”

Steve just looked pained. “I’m not joking, Danny. I’m not joking or lying. I love you. More than anyone or anything. I’m in love with you, really in love with you, and if I’ve been avoiding you, it’s because I was avoiding that. When I left, I was losing control of it. I was… I was losing control of everything, but that’s the thing that scared me the most. That you’d find out how I felt and you’d leave.”

“So, so what?” Danny asked, trying to push Steve further away with his fingertips. “You decided to leave first? What kind of asshole move is that?”

Refusing to budge, Steve replied, “I don’t know, man. I thought that if I could just wrestle all of these _feelings_ or whatever back into their little box then I could keep being your partner and your friend. I just needed some time away to work out how to do it because I never could when you were everywhere, when you were in every corner of my life. It was a stupid plan anyway, I just didn’t really know what else to do. I didn’t want to go and I never wanted to make plans without you and I never wanted you to move out and I sure as hell never wanted you to retire. I liked it when you were everywhere, I liked it when you were in every corner of my life. I fucking loved it, Danno, and I fucking love you!” He was panting, and his eyes were wet. 

And talk about a red letter day, because he was absolutely frozen for the _fifth_ time in his life. Somebody get the fireworks. It took him several moments, staring down at his shoes while Steve stared down at the top of his head, to come up with a response. All he could manage was, “Oh.”

“Oh.” Steve huffed out an angry laugh “Oh? That’s all you’ve got to say? OH?”

Like he had any right to be angry when he was the one who kept jerking Danny’s emotions around. Well, fuck that. Danny was very much a man of words, but on the rare occasion they failed him, he wasn’t afraid to get his point across in other ways. “Actually, I do have one thing to say,” he breathed as he grabbed the collar of Steve’s shirt and pulled him down into a desperate kiss. It took a few moments for Steve to get with the program before he wrapped his arms firmly around Danny and lifted him right up until the smaller man could wrap his arms around his neck. However long they stood there wrapped up in each other, it wasn’t long enough. They soon heard voices pass right outside the door though, and they jerked apart before they got caught doing something so unprofessional, even for Five-0. 

They stared at each other, mouths wet and eyes wide, and Danny couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to step right back into the other man’s arms. There was just one little problem. 

Steve, sensing the subtle tension of Danny’s worry, nudged his nose with his own and asked, “What?”

Danny turned his head a bit and leaned it back to get some air, some distance. “What what?” he asked, clearly defensive and a little glib.

“C’mon, don’t do that,” Steve demanded, his expression a mixture of disappointment and fear. “Just tell me what’s wrong. Please, Danno.”

“What about Catherine?”

Steve’s expression immediately cleared, and Danny could tell he was fighting a small grin of relief. “We’re friends, that’s it. I promise you there’s nothing else there.”

Not that Danny wanted to call him a big, fat liar or anything, but he maybe wanted to call him at least a big liar. “You spent four months gallivanting all over the globe with her, so I think there’s maybe a little more than nothing there, Steven.”

“Gallivanting?” Steve teased.

Danny was in no mood for it. “No jokes, okay? Just not now, please.”

Steve nodded and briefly looked apologetic. “Sorry. No jokes. But, buddy, have you listened to anything I’ve said about where I went? I know you were careful not to ask about my trip, but did you even once hear me mention Cath? She didn’t even come back with me. Didn’t you think that was strange if we were supposedly together?”

“Actually, I just figured she’d left your ass again because she has a real tendency to do that. I thought that’s why you came back, because it didn’t work out with her again. I assumed that’s why you didn’t mention her.” Considering all the evidence, it was a perfectly valid conclusion. 

“She didn’t leave my ass,” Steve retorted. “I actually did the leaving this time, as soon as we landed at LAX. She’s my friend, and it was nice to see her, and it’s nice to see her now, but that’s the extent of it. And as for tonight, I was trying to get you out of going because I know she’s not your favorite person. I figured you’d be happy not to deal with her and you could cut out of here early to spend some extra time with Charlie. It’s not that I didn’t want you to come along. I know I’ve left so many times, but please believe that I've always wanted you to come with me, even when I knew it wasn’t possible or right. I hate being away from you.”

“Usually when people hate something, they don’t manage to do it as often as you do. Or for as long.” Danny closed his eyes so he didn’t have to look at Steve while he humiliated himself. “I was so hurt. My kids were hurt. We tried not to be, but it took a while. I wasn’t even sure you were coming back, and you acted like you didn’t even care. I want to believe you, I want to believe we can have this, but I’m not—”

“Seventeen weeks,” Steve interrupted. “Actually, one hundred-eighteen days and eleven hours. That’s as long as I can go without seeing you and not lose my mind,” he confessed, his voice rough and uncertain. “That’s, uh, that’s the limit of my endurance.”

Once again, Danny was confused. “I don’t…”

“I love you. I love you, and I couldn’t have you. It never occurred to me that I could have you, but I was still so close to telling you, and I knew you’d hate me for it at worst or let me down gently at best. I don’t know which would’ve been worse, you know? You got hurt, and I knew if I stayed, I’d tell you. No, that’s not right, I’d beg you. I would’ve begged you to never leave me and to love me forever. I had to get right before I ruined everything. I’m not sure how long I intended to be gone, but it was more than a few months. I knew it would take longer than that to lock this away, but I couldn’t do it. So, seventeen weeks, that’s as long as I can last without you.”

Danny felt his chest swell and his scalp tingle with frightening hope, but, just, “What happens when you decide to take off again? How often are you going to need your seventeen weeks?”

Steve shook his head, and looked back at Danny with so much love that it was almost sorrow. “Never. Never again, I promise. Leaving you, staying gone that long, it was harder than Hell Week. I won’t make it again. If you’ll,” he stopped to organize his thoughts, “if you’ll have me, I’ll never leave without you again. I’ll make any vow you need, and I’ll keep my oath to you for the rest of my life. If you’ll let me.”

And despite all the hurt, all the disappointment, all the embarrassment and anger, Danny believed him. He believed every word Steve had said down to his bones.

“I love you,” Danny breathed. “I’m in love with you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone besides my kids. I don’t… I didn’t expect this either. I don’t know what I’ll need though, Steve, besides time. I’ve been in love with you for years, but, I’m sorry, I still need time. And I guess I do need promises, but I don’t know what promises though, you know, other than the one you just made.”

“You need time to see that you can trust me again. You’ve got abandonment issues too, buddy. Hell, me and Rachel and Matty gave you those issues. Take all the time you need because I’m not going anywhere. I came back and I was willing to back off, to live on the outskirts of your life so long as I could still be near you without ruining everything. I never should’ve left. I should’ve trusted that you would still be with me if I told you the truth, even if you weren’t, you know, _with_ me. I was trying to hide weakness with cowardice. I took off to get a hold on myself, and I left you bruised and hurt and believing that you weren’t enough to keep me in Hawaii. But you were. You _are_. You’re enough to keep me on the goddamn moon if that’s where you are. If you’ll give me the time, I promise we can build a life together. Forever, Danny.”

And whether he believed them right now or not, Danny needed those words. He’d felt dried out and wilted for a long time, for years, so he soaked them in like water. It would’ve been so easy to simply pull Steve down into another kiss and just be with him, but he couldn't yet. He hated himself for it a little bit, but not yet. Sensing there was more, Steve cupped the back of Danny’s head and tilted it up, looking into his eyes as he asked, “Tell me?”

“This won’t fix everything, you know?” Danny blurted. “We’ve both got so many problems, and we nearly ruined everything trying to deal with them by ourselves. I don’t wanna do that anymore. I think we need to stop that.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, “you’re right. I went to the VA last month, actually. Uhm, I got started on some medication, and I’m supposed to start group therapy next week. I meant it, Danny, I’m going to try with everything I am, no matter what it takes.”

“I’m not a mission," Danny warned. "Don’t, don’t treat me like I’m your objective, Steve."

“You’re not. My objective, just like everybody else, is to have a good life, to be happy, and I can’t do that without you.”

How he managed to be so ridiculously heart-felt and surprisingly reasonable at the same time was a mystery. He did it though, and it only reminded Danny that the man in front of him pulled off all kinds of unlikely shit on the daily. His faith in Steve definitely needed work, but the bones were still there, the structure was sound. All Danny could do was nod and say, “Okay. For the record, I’ve been seeing someone too. I’ve got some pills that help me sleep now when it gets bad, and I’ve started seeing a counselor once a week. Maybe down the road a bit, we can see about talking to someone together? Like we did before, just maybe less bitching and more trying this time.”

Steve nodded then practically fucking beamed at him before dipping his head to kiss him deeply. He gripped the back of Danny’s neck and twisted the back of his shirt up into his fist, pulling him as close as he could and keeping him there. It was a while before Danny jerked his head to the side, panting for breath and pointing up the stairs. Steve was still a little dazed, but he finally heard people heading down the stairwell toward them. 

Danny cleared his throat. “Maybe we should think about getting out of the stairwell. We’re probably a fire hazard or something.”

Steve grinned his goofiest grin. “Because we're so hot?”

Danny blinked at him then laughed his silly, happy, beautiful laugh. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“You really did,” Steve answered, grabbing Danny by the hand and pulling him out into the lobby. Danny tried to pull back, but Steve kept dragging him toward the exit to the parking lot. 

“Steve, man, stop. Stop! We can’t just leave, we have work to do.” 

“Sure we can,” Steve disagreed. “Your boss said it was okay to take the rest of the day.”

“Really?” Danny asked, packing way too much sarcasm into just one word. “When exactly did my boss say that?”

“Just now, Danno. Keep up."

“You can’t just leave the team and, uh, and Catherine up there wondering what the fuck is going on!” 

“Just get in the freaking car, Daniel.” Danny looked around and realized they were next to the Camaro, and Steve had the keys in his hands somehow, unlocking the doors before pushing Danny into the passenger’s seat.

As soon as Steve settled behind the wheel, Danny carried on, “Steve, I mean it. This isn’t fair to the team —”

Steve held up a finger to his lips before he called Lou’s office and put him on the handsfree. 

“Everything good, McGarrett?” the gruff voice asked. “Taking care of our boy?”

“Everything is good. Everything is really, really good. Look, man, Danny and I have some things to take care of, you know, uh, back at the house,” Steve managed.

“As good as all that?” Lou asked knowingly, sounding surprisingly pleased.

“Yeah, that good,” Steve agreed, glancing over at Danny's bright red face.

“I hate to be the one to stand in the way of true love,” Lou started, “but did you forget that you have a visitor here?”

“No, I didn’t forget,” he answered with more exasperation than was called for. “Could you let me talk to her for a minute? In private?”

“Man, I don’t mind getting kicked out of my own office for a little while, but I really don’t want to handle any of your ‘woman scorned’ drama, McGarrett.” Danny thought that was extremely fair.

Steve stared at his phone, his face serious, as he reassured his friend, “There won’t be any drama, Lou. If there is, I’ll come back and take care of it myself.”

The line was silent for a moment before Lou grunted, “Okay.” They heard him put the receiver down and a few moments later they heard muffled voices. Eventually someone picked up the handset.

“Steve?” Catherine asked, sounding confused and unsure.

Steve took a deep breath. “Listen, Cath, I’m sorry but something’s come up. I won’t be able to make it out with you guys tonight.”

“That’s okay,” she answered brightly. “I completely understand. Maybe we can try again tomorrow night.”

“Actually, uh, I’m not going to be able to make it tomorrow night either.”

“I’m leaving the next day, you know?” she asked. He did know. That was sort of the point. He felt a bit like a dick for doing this over the phone, but he’d already made himself clear about their relationship when she’d met him on the plane. He didn’t mind being friendly with Cath, but he was sure now that she’d never accept that completely. He couldn’t take that kind of risk with what Danny was offering him. She was a potential stumbling block for them, so whether it was fair or not, she had to go.

“Safe travels then," he replied.

The line was quiet for a few moments before she finally responded, “Sure thing. I guess I’ll see you around some other time, sailor.”

“Probably not, Catherine,” he said, hoping the finality was clear this time. “Danny and I are gonna be really busy for a while. A long, long while."

“Oh,” she said, slowly understanding just what he meant. “That’s, that’s, uhm, that’s fine. Just fine.” She cleared her voice and spoke softly, “Be happy, Steve.” Finally realizing she wasn’t likely to see him again, she sadly added, “Aloha.”

Steve nodded even though she couldn't see him. “You be happy too, Cath. Goodbye.” 

The omission of an aloha in return was conspicuous. The word meant more than simply hello or goodbye, and Danny didn't know if Steve just wasn't feeling it or if he didn't think he should say it in front of him. 

Steve hung up and they drove along in silence for a few minutes, both a little punch drunk from how quickly their lives had just changed. Finally Danny cleared his throat. “You didn’t need to do that, you know. She’s been your friend for a long time.”

“She was my friend and more, but me and Cath, we’re not so good for each other, even as friends. I want her to be happy, but she needs to do that somewhere else with someone else. There’s nothing here for her anymore and there’s not going to be. I needed to make that clear, to her and to you.”

Danny reached over and grabbed Steve’s hand tightly, nodding and trying not to show how wet his eyes were. Steve just glanced down at their joined hands and squeezed before lifting them and holding the back of Danny's hand briefly against his cheek, kissing one of his knobby knuckles.

“Hey," Danny croaked.

Steve huffed a tiny laugh, “Yes, Daniel.”

“Whadda ya say we go get Charlie out of school early. Maybe grab some lunch and catch a movie.” Danny looked over at him expectantly.

Steve tilted his head at the dashboard clock. “It’s 0930, Danny. It’s a little early for lunch, don’t you think?”

Danny nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, his lunch isn’t until noon. Whatever shall we do until then?” he asked with a coy — and just the tiniest bit unsure — grin.

There was still a lot of hurt and a lot of anger and a whole host of other shit to work through, but Danny knew they would work through it. He was confident. He was freaking optimistic. They both knew they were a long way off from sex, but he was very much on board with more kissing, even if that’s as far as it went for a while. Kissing was good, kissing was very good. In fact, he leaned over right then and planted a very good kiss right on Steve’s cheek.

Steve really did laugh then, deep and free, and sped up another ten miles an hour. “Hey, Danny?” 

“Yes, Steve?” 

“Aloha.”

Danny smiled his bright, irresistible smile. “Yeah. Aloha.”

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't forgotten ATHKC, and I'll be updating that soon. I've been editing and editing, and I think I just needed to finish something. Shout out to Sunnyqueen for showing me how much I love it when the boys kiss hands and for writing such amazing McDanno fics. Thanks for reading!


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